


Under His Skin

by Just_another_fanfic



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom, Severus Snape - Fandom
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Fanfiction, Harry Potter - Freeform, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-12
Updated: 2019-08-11
Packaged: 2019-08-22 19:18:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16603967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Just_another_fanfic/pseuds/Just_another_fanfic
Summary: Ellie Tonks and her twin sister are entering their final year of Hogwarts. Among the chaos involved in deciding where her adult life in the Wizardng world will take her, Ellie realizes that her childhood crush on the Potions Master may be turning into something more.





	1. Pilot

“Tonks, what do you think?” 

 

A sleepy Nymphadora looked up from her bed blearily, eyeing her twin sister who was not only wide awake, but perched gingerly on Tonks dresser with her massive amount of black, curly hair in her hands. She was eyeing herself in the mirror, clearly indesisive. 

 

“What do I... What?” Tonks asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and stretching out fully on her four poster. 

 

“What do you think about my curls,” her sister elaborated. “I like the super tight spirals but I feel like they make me look too much like Aunt Bella.” 

 

“You haven’t got the eyelids to look like Aunt Bella,” Tonks said, waving away Ellie’s concerns and heaving herself upright, short pink hair sticking up in all directions. “Or the twinge of insanity in your eyes.” 

 

“I suppose you’re right.” said Ellie, who was still looking her heart shaped face over in Tonks’ mirror. She screwed up her face, and as if releasing a long held breath, her hair relaxed into soft curls that ran down her back in loose spirals. “All the same, if I make it too curly it’ll friz in this weather.” 

 

Ellie removed herself from Tonks’s dresser and collapsed onto the unoccupied side of the bed. It was their first day back at Hogwarts in their final year and the rain was beating down hard against the castle as if in protest of their arrival. Ellie, who woke up every morning at six as if she had an internal alarm clock, had already gotten up from her bed in Gryffindor tower, showered, dressed, and snuck into the Hufflepuff common room to bug her sister. 

 

Tonks, who wasn’t remotely a morning person, still looked like she could use an additional two hours. A few of the other seventh year Hufflepuffs were already out of bed and probably getting breakfast, while two others were still snoozing comfortably. Ellie caught Tonks giving them envious looks before she got up out of bed herself and changed from her pajamas to her school robes. 

 

Once she had gotten dressed and stared herself down in the mirror, the two of them walked out of the Hufflepuff common room side by side. Tonks was sporting vibrant blue hair that fell straight down to her collarbones. Both were now chatting away about the classes they’d be taking that year. 

 

“I still can’t believe you’ve talked me into taking N.E.W.T. level potions,” Tonks sighed dramatically. “I was really hoping to be done with him last year. He hates me you know,” 

 

“Oh, Snape hates everyone,” Ellie said dismissively, “besides, if you want to be an auror you’ll need your N.E.W.T. in potions,” she added matter-o-factly. “And this year you’ll have me to dick around with.” 

 

“Yeah, that brings me to my other question. What is your reason for taking potions this year anyway?” Tonks asked. They were now past the kitchens and headed up to the great hall. Their stomachs were growling from the smells of breakfast wafting from the kitchens. “You’re planning on going into a care of magical creatures field.” 

 

“I just enjoy the subject” Ellie said innocently, “and you never know, Potions might be useful in whatever field I decide to delve into.” 

From the look she was receiving, she could tell Dora wasn’t convinced. For the vast majority of the school save the Slytherins, potions class was anything but enjoyable. 

 

“Right,” said Tonks, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Couldn’t have anything to do with that little crush you have on Snape, could it?” 

 

Ellie grinned in spite of herself. Her left foot had caught her right leg and she tripped forward, stumbling to keep herself from face planting onto the stone floor. When she rose up her cheeks were red. 

 

“I don’t have a crush on Snape.” Ellie replied airily, blowing a black curl out of her face. Tonks sniggered. 

 

“Sure you don’t,” Tonks said, grinning, “you just watch his every move in potions class, and answer all his questions, and get perfect grades, and-“ 

 

“Y’know, some would call that being a good student,” Ellie said superiority before winking at her sister. “And so what if I want a little ‘extra credit’,” 

 

“I still think you’ve been addled by a few too many bludgers to the head,” Tonks said, pulling a disgusted face. 

 

Ellie was spared thinking of a retort by the appearance of Charlie Weasley, another seventh year who had just ran into them on his way from the Gryffindor tower. He grinned ear to ear when he saw Ellie. 

 

“I sure hope not,” said the stocky redhead as he fell into step with the twins. He shifted his school bag over from one meaty arm to another. “I still need you as one of my beaters.” 

 

“Oh, Charlie,” Ellie said reproachfully, “you know no amount of brain damage would keep me from pummeling Slytherin team with a bat.” 

 

“That’s my girl!” Charlie said approvingly, “first practice is Thursday afternoon, I’m holding some tryouts since our keeper and one of our chasers left end of last term. If you miss it I’ll have to kill you.” 

 

“You can try,” said Ellie, punching Charlie’s arm. “I’ll grab your schedule if you grab me some eggs.” 

 

“Deal,” said Charlie, and with a wink he split off from the two of them, heading over to the Gryffindor table and ruffling the hair of two identical red headed first years. The Weasley twins Fred and George. 

 

“See,” Tonks continued, gesturing towards the retreating Charlie, “there’s someone you could fancy. He’s your age, he’s not hideous, he has a personality, he’s your age, he doesn’t have the temper of a mountain troll, he’s YOUR AGE-“ 

 

“Charlie and I are about as interested in each other as Dumbledore is the Dark Arts.” said Ellie, “the day Charlie is more interested in girls than he is dragons is the day I eat a desk.” 

 

“Yeah, Yeah, whatever,” Tonks said, rolling her eyes. She looked back over at the two red heads that were the Weasley twins and smirked. “Is it just me, or do those two look like trouble?”

 

“You never know,” Ellie shrugged, “for all we know they could be minute versions of Percy.” 

 

The two of them snorted. 

 

Tonks walked over to one end of the staff table to get her schedule from Professor Sprout. Ellie walked towards the other end to see a severe looking witch with dark hair pulled neatly back into a tight bun. She had a pair of square shaped glasses perched on top of her nose. 

 

“Morning Professor,” said Ellie with a grin. “Can I get my schedule? Oh, and Charlie’s too please,” 

 

“Certainly,” said Professor McGonnagall. She thumbed through the papers set before her and brandished two schedules, the top one reading, “Tonks, Alyrianna,” 

 

”Thanks!” Ellie said, “see you..” she trailed off as her eyes darted over her schedule, “this afternoon!” 

 

Professor McGonagall gave Ellie a rare smile as she turned toward her twin and they walked down to their tables. Tonks held up her own schedule and groaned loudly in contempt. 

 

“Potions! Our first day back and the first damn class is potions?!” She smacked her palm to her forehead, “the last thing I feel like seeing first thing on a Monday morning is Snape curling his lip at whatever I’m trying to make,” 

 

“That makes one of us.” said Ellie in a singsong voice, grinning toothily at her sister. The look Tonks gave her in response was a mixture of disgust and amusement. But if she was going to call Ellie out on her little crush, she was going to have her own fun with it. 

 

“You better hope having the trace lifted off me hasn’t put me in heat,” Ellie whispered before turning to head down to her own house table. The sound of Tonks’ obnoxious retching at her last statement made her grin even wider. 

 

She walked down the Gryffindor table and sat herself down next to Charlie, who, as promised, had a plate piled high with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and toast. Adjacent to that was a goblet of ice cold pumpkin juice with her name all over it. 

 

“Weasley, you’re a god.” Ellie said, looking down hungrily at the feast set before her. She handed him his schedule and sat down on his left, almost not noticing the twins sitting opposite her and Charlie. 

 

“Ellie,” Charlie said after swallowing a particularly large bite of pancakes, “these are my brothers Fred and George,” 

 

The twins looked up and grinned. They had a glint in their eye of something that made Ellie quite sure they’d be nothing whatsoever like their rule loving brother Percy. 

 

“Hi,” Ellie said warmly, “erm, which one of you’s which?” 

 

“No idea half the time,” Charlie said with a shrug, “they love to drive Percy mad. Peeves is gonna love them.” 

 

“I’m Fred,” said the one directly in front of her, “this is George,” he pointed in turn to his left. George grinned, his mouth too full to talk. 

 

“Pleasure to meet you!” said Ellie, “I’m Alyrianna Tonks, but please call me Ellie.” 

 

“Why should we call you Ellie?” Inquired George, who finished whatever had been previously occupying his mouth. 

 

“Because Alyrianna sounds like a sexually transmitted disease,” Ellie stated matter-o-factly. “and my sister called dibs on our surname so I’m stuck with the nickname Charlie gave me in our first year.” 

 

“It’s not a bad nickname!” said Charlie, elbowing her in the ribs. “And you certainly seem to like it better than ‘Alyrianna’,” 

 

“Oh, stuff it,” she said, casting a playful look at Charlie before indulging herself in what was the best breakfast she’d had in what felt like ages. In about ten minutes she had cleared the plate and looked up, noticing that the twins were staring at her open mouthed. 

 

“Where do you put it all?” asked Fred.

 

”Have you got a hollow leg?” asked George

 

“She eats enough to feed a troll,” Charlie told the twins, who were clearly impressed. “You should see how much she puts away at dinner. She might look tiny but she’s got the density of a dying star.” 

 

“So tactful,” Ellie said approvingly, then looked back over to the twins. “I’m beater for the Gryffindor quidditch team. I’m five foot six inches of pure muscle.” she pulled one of her sleeves up and flexed a well muscled arm to demonstrate. 

 

“Wicked,” said George, grinning. 

 

After chatting merrily with the Weasleys for another ten minutes, Ellie finally rose from her seat and slung her bag over one shoulder. 

 

“I’m off to potions, see you three later!” She called over her shoulder, heading back towards the double doors. 

 

“Oh right, that reminds me,” she heard Charlie saying to the twins, almost businesslike, “our Potions Master is Snape, he’s a major twat. You’ll hate him.” 

 

 

 

***

 

There was a restless murmur in the dungeons classroom as the students who signed up for N.E.W.T. level potions rustled through their bags and pulled out supplies. Tonks was sat at the table in front of Ellie, chatting away with another seventh year Hufflepuff about how their summer holiday had been, and their plans after graduation. All chatter ceased, however, when the dungeon door slammed closed, and a brooding man with long dark hair and a sour face swept into the room. 

 

“Good morning,” Snape said icily as he strode to the front of the class, glaring at each of them in turn until his eyes rested on Ellie. She smirked back at him in response, one hand playing with a loose black curl, the other drumming the pads of her fingers silently against the top of her desk. 

 

“Morning Professor,” Ellie said, winking. Muffled laughter came from behind her. Students in her class last year were all too aware of her infatuation with their potions master. Snape blinked once at her before turning back to the rest of classroom and giving them a brief speech on his expectations of them, considering they were his top level class. 

 

“To see how many of you did the proper studying over the summer, you shall be creating a solution of fortification. You will have exactly one hour and twenty-five minutes to complete the potion. At the end of the lesson we shall choose one to test.” He flicked his wand, “you will find the instructions on the board.” 

 

At once everyone studied the board for a few moments and then set off unpacking ingredients they’d be using, and preparing the kindling beneath their cauldrons to be lit later. Ellie began by placing a good sized chunk of dried dragon liver down on the cutting board in front of her and doused it in a small amount of water to rehydrate. The then pulled a sprig of foxglove from her bundle of herbs and started to chop it into fine pieces. After glancing up at the board a few more times, she eventually got into the swing of things, and before she knew it, she was looking down at a simmering, translucent potion with a slight purple hue. She had just ladled some into a vial and corked it when Snape called for the rest of the class to stop what they were doing and come up with their own vials. Ellie rose up out of her chair and handed Professor Snape her corked potion. She made a point to let her fingers graze his own for a moment before she turned to sit back down at her chair. Snape’s Mouth was a thin line.

After everyone had handed over their own potions, some looking very similar to Ellie’s, others looking a muddy brown color, Professor snape spoke again. 

 

“Who’s shall we test then?” He asked, looking around at the students. “Anyone care to offer?” 

 

Tonks, who had delivered one of the rather off looking potions, ducked her head down, as if the blue hair obscuring half her face would draw less attention. 

 

“I’ll test mine,” Ellie said, raising her hand up. Snape turned his cold gaze over to her again and she bit her lip. 

 

“Very well.” Snape said, folding his arms across his chest. The rest of the class turned to Ellie who had stood herself back up and ladled another bit of potion into a vial. She looked around at the room for a split second before tilting the vial upside down and downing it in two gulps. She shuddered violently and grimaced, thinking for a moment that she might show the entire class what she had had for breakfast. Then the nausea subsided and was replaced with a feeling of cold water trickling down her head. 

 

“How does it taste?” Snape asked, his lip curling into what was almost a smirk. 

 

“Like a house elf’s loin cloth,” Ellie said, causing Tonks to snort so loud a few students jumped. “How do we know if it worked?” 

 

“I reckon we’ll have to chuck something heavy at you and see if it bounces off or not,” said Daine, a Ravenclaw seventh year. 

 

“That’s the idea,” Snape said cooly. “I have a rather large brick next to the door that should be sufficient.” 

 

Ellie raised her eyebrows and grinned at the handful of students in the room. No one seemed too keen to throw something heavy at her. 

 

“Come on then, Jericho,” she goaded, looking over at the Slytherin quidditch team captain. He had short dark hair and deep blue eyes that made the vast majority of the girls in school swoon. “You know you want an excuse to lob something at my head,” 

 

Jericho’s lips turned upward in a smirk, and he rose to his own feet, walking across the classroom to the brick the size of a very fat hedgehog. It was the one Snape used regularly to prop open the heavy dungeon door. She watched his arm stiffen as he picked up the brick and cradled it. 

 

“Stand there, Mr. Odine,” Snape said, gesturing for Jericho to stand a few paces to Snape’s left, about five yards from herself. “and don’t miss.” 

 

The class held it’s breath as Ellie squared her shoulders and watched Jericho get into position and maneuver the brick into a comfortable position in husband hand. She made sure to keep her arms by her sides, even when the sight of him pulling back his arm caused adrenaline to pump wildly through her veins. Had she double checked her ingredients? Triple checked? Timed the simmering correctly before adding more materials? She was so concerned with thinking through her potion over in her head that she didn’t notice the brick being thrown until it collided with her chest and shattered into a million pieces. Several students shriked in surprise. 

 

Ellie blinked several times, looking down at herself in shock and looking back up at Jericho, who mirrored her own look of surprise. She hadn’t even felt it hit her. She let out the breath she had been holding and the plume of dust from the brick that had shattered on her chest made her sneeze. 

 

“Full marks,” Snape said dully, “class dismissed.”

 

The classroom fell silent again and everyone slowly registered what had just happened. Tonks grinned broadly at her sister and clapped a few times. 

 

“That was bitchin’, Ellie!” Tonks shouted as they left the classroom. She was walking sideways and tossing ink bottles at Ellie’s head and catching them as they bounced back at her. “How long is it supposed to last?” 

 

Before Ellie could answer, a hand was placed on her shoulder and she looked up to see Snape glaring down at them both. 

 

“I’ll need to remove that,” he said evenly. “This way please.” 

 

Ellie tried not to look visibly displeased as she turned away from her sister and followed snape back to the classroom. She hoped if she got out of there quickly enough she’d be able to keep her newfound armor until it wore off on its own. 

 

“Can’t I keep it?” She asked tentatively “I was hoping to find Peeves later and really freak him out“ 

 

“Certainly not,” said Snape, closing the door behind them and striding over to his desk, rummaging through drawers apparently looking for the antedote. 

 

“Well..” she said slowly, walking forward to sit on the desk in front of his own, “How was your summer, then?” 

 

Snape stopped rummaging and looked up at her at her like she had gone mad. 

 

“I just did lots of applications, mostly,” Ellie went on when she realized Snape wasn’t going to divulge her in details of his own summer break. “Trying to find a position doing something care of magical creatures related. Maybe working with dragons or something.” 

 

Snape was now uncorking an unlabeled vial of black liquid and smelling it, before corking it again and handing it to her. 

 

“Pity you didn’t decide to go into something for potions,” Snape said, “you have an aptitude for it.” He was now sitting at his desk with his fingers laced together. He raised his eyebrows at her when she grinned at him. 

 

“Drink.” Snape said, “before you’re late to your next class. I’m not writing you an excuse.” 

 

Ellie scowled at him before tilting back the vial and drinking the antidote. This, unlike the potion she herself created, tasted sweet and and left her feeling warm and fuzzy in her middle. Snape took a small mint from a bowl at his desk and pelted it at her forehead. 

 

“Ouch!” 

 

“You’re cured.” He stated, “Out.” 

 

Ellie stared at him in shock before laughing and removing herself from the top of her desk and heaving her bag higher up on her shoulder. She turned her head on her way out the door and grinned at him. 

 

“See you around, then,” she said, before letting the door close behind her. She hurried up the dungeon steps and bit her lip to keep from looking too pleased with herself.

 

 

Author’s Note: 

Hi guys! I’m not sure how popular fan fiction is anymore. It’s been a loooong time since I’ve read any but I’ve had the story stuck in my head for quite a while and figured I’d write it out somewhere. If you like what you see and would like for me to continue, please leave a comment. Thanks!!


	2. Chapter Two

“Now class be careful, they may be very small and cute but they’re still incredibly feisty-“ 

Professor Kettleburn’s sentence was cut off by a jet of bright orange flame that would have scalded his arm, had it not already been lobbed off his body. In its stead was a prosthetic that had wisely been made fire resistant. 

“And as you can see,” he continued, swatting at the burning robes on his fake arm with his only hand, “still very much fire-breathing” 

Ellie shrieked with absolute delight as she ran up to one of the tables, each with its own dragon hatchling perched upon it. Charlie was right on her heels and both of them looked down in awe at the tiny winged beast before them. 

“Isn’t she gorgeous?” Asked Professor Kettleburn with a proud smile at his two favorite students. The others in his N.E.W.T. classes were rather weary of his antics at this point and usually approached their seats with a fair amount of caution. Whether Ellie and Charlie embraced his habits or just weren’t smart enough to keep away, he did not know or care. 

“Are you joking?” Asked Charlie with a laugh of sheer delight, “she’s an Antipodean Opaleye! They’re supposed to be practically impossible to find!” 

Ellie extended out her hand to the pearly white dragon and spread out her fingers, allowing the dragon to smell her tentatively. Professor Kettleburn tossed them over a burlap sack, which Charlie caught. He pulled out a decent sized cube of raw beef and placed it in front of the Opaleye, distracting it from nibbling at Ellie’s hand. In an instant the hatchling had snatched it up and tore at it hungrily, making soft chirruping . The other students placed hands in their own sacks and followed suit. 

The following lesson was filled with very intriguing information and lots of fires, followed by words that were usually frowned upon. All the students but one had turned in a sketch of the dragon they were observing except one who had gotten close. A jet of flame went right through the parchment and burned a large patch of hair on a sixth year Ravenclaw girl. She was escorted to the hospital wing just in time for the bell signaling the end of the class. 

“I smell burning hair and a sixty-third probation period” mused Professor Kettleburn as the rest of the students hastened off to the great hall for dinner. 

The sun hung low in the sky, casting an orange glow over tallest tips of green grass out on the hogwarts grounds on which their lesson had been. Ellie and Charlie packed their things slowly, relishing in as much time as they could with the dragons. 

“A word, before you’re off, Weasley,” said Professor Kettleburn as Ellie and Charlie finally tore their eyes off the dragons and made to head towards dinner, “you too, Tonks.” 

The two of them looked back around at the elderly man and walked over, curiosity evident on their faces. 

“I thought you might be wondering where I got these dragons,” Professor Kettleburn continued, “Who let me borrow them for the lesson, and such.”

“Oh,” Charlie said, shrugging his massive shoulders, “we assumed you got them illegally,” 

“Yeah,” added Ellie, grinning. “You know, Black market and all, same way Hagrid does,” 

“Well I suppose I can’t say I’m surprised,” their Professor said, running the fingers of his real hand over his stark white mustache, “but as a matter of fact, they’re here perfectly legally.” 

Ellie raised her eyebrows, intrigued. Who on earth would have legal access to all these hatchlings? 

“It just so happens that I have been in communication with a certain dragon keeper in Romania looking for new recruits. He was curious to know whether or not I had any students that might be up for the job after they finished school.” 

This news came as such a shock to them that Ellie’s hair turned a vibrant purple, and Charlie dropped the book he had been holding. 

“What?!” Charlie yelled in absolute delight, running a hand through his shaggy red hair, “And what did you tell them?!” 

“Take a guess,” Kettleburn said with a grin, “only that I have two fantastic students up for the challenge, and Gryffindors to boot.” 

It felt like everything in Ellie’s life had been leading up to this moment. Working with dragons in Romania would be great beyond words, and Charlie would be right there with her! It was all she could do to keep from passing out from glee right then and there. 

“Only if you want to, of course,” added Kettleburn, the mischievous grin still on his wrinkled face. “And you have to pass your N.E.W.T.’s,” 

“Yeah, of course we do!” Exclaimed Charlie, his brown eyes wide with elation. “And we’ll ace those tests don’t you worry!” In his excitement, he picked Ellie up and spun her around twice before setting her back down onto the grass. The two of them were beaming at each other. 

“It’s settled then,” Professor Kettleburn said, “I’ll send them an owl this evening letting them know you want the jobs. The dragons will be staying here until Wednesday. I’ll make sure you get to meet the keepers before they leave.”

“We can’t thank you enough, Professor,” Ellie said, wrapping her arms around their teacher in a tight hug, “thank you so much for this,” 

“You’re welcome, child,” said Professor Kettleburn, laughing, “now get off me before I get another probationary period.” 

Ellie let go, still grinning. 

“And before you two go tell Hagrid,” their teacher said, scooping up the pearlescent flying lizard into his hands, “why don’t you go show him this. He hasn’t gotten to see them yet and I promised I’d send one over with you,” 

It was like Christmas had come early. Ellie picked up the dragon out of Kettleburn’s good hand and allowed her to crawl up into her purple curls, peeping its bright white head out from the hair at the crown of her head. They promised multiple times that they’d have the dragon back to him by that night and set out to Hagrid‘s hut to tell him the news. 

 

* * * 

 

“I KNEW IT, I DID!” Boomed Hagrid, pulling Charlie and Ellie into his home as soon as he opened the door. “I TOL’ YA TWO YEH’D GET FAR WITH YER TALENTS!” 

“Thanks, Hagrid,” Ellie said through her grin. “And Kettleburn wanted us to show you this,”

She reached up and made to pluck the tiny dragon out of her hair. It was a bit more difficult than she had expected, the dragon had its claws wrapped up in her immensely curly hair didn’t seem keen on letting go. After a few seconds of struggling however the dragon was back in her outstretched hand. 

“Oh would yeh look at her,” Hagrid said in awe, looking down at the small creature before him and stretching out his hands to hold it. “She’s a beauty, she is,” 

“An Antipodean Opaleye,” Charlie said as the dragon clambered into Hagrid’s hands and let out a warning shot of smoke. It’s wings had an iridescent shimmer to them as it stretched them out. “Incredibly rare,” 

“Tha’s righ’’,” Hagrid whispered as he used a large finger to stroke the chin of the dragon affectionately. This earned him a scorching blast to the beard, which he quickly put out with his free hand. “And already quite the fighter, aren’t yeh?” 

The rest of the evening was spent chatting away excitedly over the dragon and the future careers of Charlie and Ellie. They drank cold pumpkin juice into the night while a very full dragon slumbered in Ellie’s lap. It seemed that the events of the day as well as a very large meal of rat had thoroughly exhausted the creature. 

It was ten past eleven in the evening when the pair decided to head back out over the dark and empty grounds into the castle to Professor Kettleburn’s office. They knocked once on the door and it creaked open, revealing the place to be empty. 

“Uh oh.” said Charlie, breaking the silence. “Where’s he gone?” 

“Maybe he’s feeding the dragons in the storage room?” Ellie asked hopefully, though she doubted it to be true. If he were feeding a room full of dragons there’d be plenty of animated sounds of glee coming from the pantry door. 

Instead, there was a very thick silence, and a note stuck to the storage room door. 

Charlie stride across the vacant office and tugged the note off the door, reading it out loud: 

“Ellie and Charlie, 

Sorry I didn’t tell you before, but I received an owl from the ministry a few hours after dinner informing me that my chimaera has managed to remove herself from the enclosure I had built for her and is now terrorizing a small muggle village. No harm has come of it yet but I will have to go there straight away to remedy the situation. I’ve locked the dragons in their storage room with plenty of food and water to suffice them until I get back. Please keep an eye on the Opaleye while I’m gone. 

I will see you both on Sunday evening at the latest. 

Well wishes, 

Professor Silvanus Kettleburn 

P.S.  
Make sure the dragon doesn’t imprint. “

 

“What.”

It was more of a statement than a question. Ellie had fully understood the content of the note, but couldn’t fathom the situation they were now stuck in. Before Ellie could voice the idea, Charlie held out his hand and rattled the door knob to the storage room. He was answered with a very locked door and muffled hisses from the collection of small dragons he had roused. 

“Apparently,” Charlie said slowly, “we’re parents for the weekend.” 

 

They had spent an hour sneaking around the school, looking for a decent place to keep a tiny dragon hidden for two days. Every place they looked however seemed to be closed by a wooden door. While they could easily open the locks, they ran the risk of the dragon burning a hole in the door and escaping. Or, an even worse possibility, Filtch finding the creature. The two of them finally decided on allowing the hatchling to sleep underneath the covers of Ellie’s bed, and if needed she’d sneak into Charlie’s dorm to swap shifts if needed. 

Charlie had just doubled back to use the bathroom when a cold, sneering voice made Ellie jump. 

“What on earth is a student doing out of bed at this hour?” 

Ellie dropped the sleeping dragon into her bag and spun around to see Professor Snape glaring down at her. She saw the tips of her hair, illuminated by his wand light turn pink. 

“Oh, Professor, I was just-“ Ellie stammered, never having been a good liar, “I was just... walking.” 

Snape raised an eyebrow 

“Just.. walking, were you?” He asked quietly. His eyes met Ellie’s and she fought against the tugging at her mind. She knew snape was a legilimens. 

“Yes,” she said, a bit more certainly now, “just walking. Alone.” She shot a look behind Snape at Charlie who had peaked out from behind a suit of armor. He ducked back behind it just in time as Snape turned his head around. 

“What are you doing up so late, Professor?” Ellie asked casually, determined to keep the conversation going. Snape usually let Ellie off the hook on things, but certainly not one of the Weasley boys. “Can’t sleep?” 

Snape raised both eyebrows this time. Ellie knew she was being ballsey by striking a conversation with him rather than apologizing and scurrying away. But she had to get him away from Charlie. 

The dragon squirmed slightly in its sleep, a slight stream of smoke billowed from Ellie’s bag. 

“Come with me, Miss Tonks,” Snape said silkily, placing a hand around Ellie’s arm and steering her in the direction of the dungeons. “We clearly need to have a discussion about your late night wanderings,” 

Ellie looked behind her and winked at Charlie. She turned back around and allowed Snape to walk her- none too gently- down several flights of stairs until they had reached the classroom he did his lessons in. He opened the heavy metal dungeon door and motioned silently for Ellie to enter. She walked into the dark room and blinked several times as the candles around the room lit spontaneously. 

Snape gestured to the chair Ellie typically occupied during classes, and she sat down obediently. She set her bag down gently at her feet and looked up at Snape expectantly. He dark eyes were closed, and he was now sitting in his own chair, rubbing at his temples with his index and middle fingers. Ellie grabbed at a loose pink curl absentmindedly and started twirling it between her fingers, waiting for Snape to break the silence. 

“I’m sorry, Professor,” she said after it seemed evident that Snape wasn’t going to speak. “I didn’t mean to be out so late, it won’t happen again.” 

“We have a bit more to discuss than breaking curfew, Tonks,” 

“Oh please don’t call me that,” Ellie groaned, “it sounds like you’re talking to my sister,” 

“Fine.” Snape said shortly, “Alyrian-“ 

“Noooooooo” Ellie whined, covering her face with her hands, “that’s even worse,” 

Snape sighed, iritation evident. 

“What would you have me call you then?” He asked through gritted teeth. 

“You can call me Ellie,” she said, “or darling, sweetheart, favorite student, it’s really up to-“ 

“This is exactly what we are going to be addressing.” Snape said coldly, slamming his hands down on his desk. “You think that you can strut around this castle at whatever time you choose, with your little boyfriend Weasley, and then make a fool out of me in my own class.” 

Ellie opened her mouth to protest but was cut off by a glare. 

“I have been incredibly lenient on you for reasons I do not know but I promise you it will cease immediately.” 

“Charlie isn’t my boyfriend, Professor,” Ellie said quietly. 

“Do not lie to me!” Snape said in a snarl, his cheeks flushing. “I have grown tired of your behavior in the last month and if it doesn’t end immediately I will not hesitate to speak to your head of house.” 

Ellie’s head was spinning. What behavior was he on about? Were the situation not so tense she might have laughed at the term “boyfriend” leaving his lips. It sounded so strange. 

“Professor, honestly,” Ellie started again, “Charlie and I are just friends, we’ve never ever had any feelings for each other-“ Ellie wondered why she was even explaining her friendship with Charlie to Snape. “And what behavior are you talking about? I told you I won’t be out past curfew again-“ 

“I am talking about,” interrupted Snape, “the behavior you exhibit in my classroom. The way you address me, the way you flounce up to my desk at the end of each lesson as if it was some joke you-“ 

“Oh.” Ellie stated blankly. She had not intended to interrupt him but the realization that her flirting with him in class was his issue had hit her like a stunning spell. 

“Professor, I wasn’t trying to make a joke out of your class, I was flirting.” She stated, “I didn’t realize it was upsetting you this much. It won’t happen again, I promise.” 

Snape looked at her as if she had just spoken her response in another language. 

“You,” he started slowly, “you were what?” 

“I was flirting,” Ellie said again, looking down to his hands still splayed out on the table and back up to his face, now thoroughly confused. 

“You know,” she continued, “when you find someone attractive and want to let them know you’re interested?” 

“Stop lying,” Snape growled. 

Ellie groaned and rubbed her eyes impatiently. 

“Look inside my head then,” 

“Excuse me?” 

“I know you’re a legilimens, Professor.” Ellie stated. “My mum’s Andromeda Black, she may not have been a Death Eater but she knew things about them and told me you were.” 

 

Snape said nothing for a moment. 

“It is frowned upon for teachers to use ligilimency on students.” said Snape flatly. 

“But I’m inviting you to,” Ellie argued, “I’m asking you to look inside my head or at least stop accusing me of being a liar!” 

She had no idea she had stood up. 

Snape blinked at her, now tracing his lip with a long finger, contemplating the idea. He had tried on several occasions to get inside Ellie’s mind, to find out why she was pulling such stunts in his classroom. It made sense now why he could never penetrate her mind. If she knew he was a ligilimens she could have practiced and mastered occlumency as a precaution. 

But here she was, offering him a glimpse inside her mind of her own free will. 

Ellie’s eyes locked with Snapes and she felt a probing sensation against the walls she had so carefully built for ages. It took a moment to relax enough that Snape could enter her mind, but after a moment she had memories flashing before her eyes. 

Her fifth year, she had been resting her head on her hand, watching Snape read as she half mindlessly worked on her potion. She had stirred it a few too many times and the entire thing exploded, causing her to stay after class to clean it up. 

Another memory, fourth year, she had been asked out by a Gryffindor boy. She refused politely, but turned scarlet when the boy’s friend accused her of being obsessed with Snape. She sent a stinging hex flying into his face. 

Another flash came over her, a particularly pleasant dream she had had over the summer of the two of them sitting in the classroom alone, rather like they were now. Only, Snape was standing incredibly close to her, their faces inches apart. She could see the curtains of his dark hair framing his face. He wasn’t smiling, but his eyes crinkled warmly at her. He closed his eyes and she mirrored him, letting her lips graze his own.

“Okay I think you’ve seen enough!” Ellie gasped, and threw up her walls again so fast that Snape winced in pain. He pulled a hand up to his face and rubbed at his forehead as if he had just sustained a blow there. 

Ellie’s cheeks were red and hot and she didn’t think she’d be able to look him in the eye for several weeks. She had NOT meant for him to see that dream. That was too much. 

Snape was unreadable. His hands were folded together on his desk and he was looking at Ellie as if she were a dangerous plant you’d find in one of the greenhouses. 

“Well, I’m off to bed,” she said quickly, hoisting her bag over her shoulder and spinning on the spot to leave the room. She fumbled with the door knob for agonizing seconds before she finally managed to get it open. She was almost completely out the door before Snape spoke. 

“Your bag is on fire.” 

Ellie slammed the door shut behind her and flung the bag off herself. She pulled out her wand and whispered frantically “Aguamenti!” 

A jet of water shot from her wand and extinguished the half of her bag that had burst into flames moments before. She pulled out the sopping wet dragon by the skin behind her neck and looked her over, but she was completely unharmed. Probably made more uncomfortable by the water then the flames she had engulfed herself in. 

“Okay you,” Ellie sighed, letting the glistening white dragon clamber up the sleeve of her robe, “let’s go get to bed.”


	3. Chapter 3

“He just.. He just let you go?!” Whispered Charlie in astonishment, “your bag burst into flames and he didn’t even bloody question it?!” 

Charlie, pale faced, had been waiting anxiously for Ellie to get back to the common room. When she crept quietly through the portrait hole within twenty minutes, he was flabbergasted to say the very least. 

“I mean,” Ellie said carefully, “he didn’t really see the dragon. I could have had anything in there. Like, remember that time we tried having a school play and Professor Kettleburn set the great hall on fire with that Ashwinder because it went and laid eggs?”

“Right, because having ashwinder eggs is completely normal.” Charlie said, rolling his eyes. “I can’t believe how lucky we got.” 

“More normal than a dragon,” 

Ellie winced as the tiny beast perched in hair let out a hiccup, and a tuft of the still pink hair on the crown of her head got singed.

“It definitely could have gone worse,” she admitted, patting the spot on her head that had been burned. “It’s just lucky that I was the one he caught and not you,” 

“Woah!” 

Ellie and Charlie turned around on the spot, startled by the sudden shout behind them. Staring down at them from the top of the staircase leading to the boys dormitory stood Fred and George, little red heads peaked over the bannister to stare down an them. 

“Oi! You two, get down here,” Charlie shouted at them, half irritated, half amused. The twins ran down the stairs in a flash of red hair and stopped, staring at the top of Ellie’s head in wonder. 

“What is that?” asked Fred in amazement. 

“Looks like a dragon!” George exclaimed, standing on his toes to get a better look at the hiccuping creature. 

“Shhhh!” Charlie whispered frantically, waving his arms up and down to silence the boys, “if you two quiet down I’ll let you see, but you know the rules,” 

“Yeah yeah, we know,” said Fred

“Snitches get stitches,” added George 

“Good,” Charlie said. He reached up to pluck the dragon out of Ellie’s hair and had to snatch his hand back to avoid a jet of flame. The twins grinning faces were illuminated by the sudden bright light. 

“Here,” said Ellie, she reached up and pulled at the dragon until the teeny claws released her hair and begrudgingly, the winged lizard was lowered down in front of the twins. 

“Wicked,” said Fred and George in unison.

“We’ve got her for the weekend,” Charlie explained. Ellie sat down into a very large and very soft armchair next to him, letting the dragon clamber over her robes and curl up into her lap.

“Yeah, only until Professor Kettleburn gets back. They’ll be going back to Romania on Wednesday.” Ellie added. She grinned, thinking about how she and Charlie would be headed to Romania themselves soon after. 

Ellie, the twins, and Charlie stayed up a little longer in the otherwise empty common room. The last of the embers in the fireplace were dying when Ellie finally decided to retire to her bed. She waved off the boys and headed up the stairs on tiptoes. 

“Oi!” whispered Charlie. She halted, one foot still in midair. She said nothing, turning to look over at him with an eyebrow raised. 

“We should name her,” Charlie continued, “Fred and George think Fafnir,” 

“Fafnir?” Ellie questioned, “Really?” 

“Fifi for short,” George said wisely. Fred nodded. 

Ellie stifled a laugh and nodded, grinning at them. 

“Night!” called Charlie 

“Night boys,” Ellie replied. She waved them off a last time before finishing her way up the stares and turning into the dorm of seventh year Gryffindor girls. 

 

* * *

 

It was still dark outside when Ellie woke up. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and let out a massive yawn. 

A soft, chirruping sound very close to her right ear make her jolt upright, hair once again black and curly and absolutely tangled. The dragon she had allowed sleep in her bed was thrown forward and landed at the foot of her bed. It cocked its iridescent white head sideways and let out a puff of smoke from its nostrils. 

“I thought I dreamed you up,” she muttered, after blinking several times at the dragon, expecting it to vanish any second. “I guess not,” 

The dragon dubbed Fifi by the twins didn’t seem to mind being ejected from Ellie’s shoulder. Instead, she clawed her way back up the bed to Ellie’s crossed legs and yawned, letting a pink forked tongue hang out of her mouth. 

Ellie grinned warmly down at the dragon, but jumped again as she heard one of the girls stir in their sleep. 

“Okay let’s get out of here Fifi,” Ellie whispered, and immediately stood up and stripped off what little bed clothes she had been wearing the night before. She rummaged through her dresser until she found a pair clean robes to put on. 

As she slid the robes over her body her thoughts drifted back to the night before. A flush spread over her cheeks when she remembered offering Snape a glimpse in her mind, and the resulting memories he had seen. 

“Stupid,” she muttered, “stupid stupid stupid,” 

After she’d splashed her face in the water basin next to the window and raked a comb through the black, curly rats nest atop her head, she peered at herself in the mirror quizzically. 

“What shall I do with you today,” she asked to herself, “Something a little more daring?” 

After a moment of hard concentration and pulling a face that looked like an attempt from Ellie to lay an egg, her hair shots into her skull and changed to a very vibrant purple until it was in framing her face in a short pixie cut. 

“Festive,” Ellie decided approvingly, “now, we’ll just have to go wake up Charlie and my darling sister and then-“ 

Ellie turned around towards her bed and her words cut short. The dragon was gone. 

The space she had occupied just moments before was now vacant and spotted with burns. 

“Oh, oh no.” She whispered, “what do I- oh no,” 

She tiptoed around the dorm frantically, tossing the pillows off her bed and quietly peeking under the best of her still sleeping classmates. No dragon to be found. 

Her pulse was thundering in her ears at the thought of where the dragon could have gotten to so quickly. She scrambled back to her bed and tore through the sheets looking for her wand. Finally, her trembling hands made purchase. 

“Accio, Fifi!” She whispered in desperation. There was silence, and then, to her relief, the sound of claws on wood radiated from beneath one of the oak dressers on the far side of the dorm. 

Ellie hastily dropped to her knees and plunged her hand in the gap beneath the dresser and the wall and pulled out a squirming, hissing, pearly white dragon. In addition to that, a very large and very dead rat, it’s neck clutched in the dragon’s jaws. 

“Oh,” she gasped in relief, letting go of the reptile and pressing her palm to her forehead. “You were just hungry, okay,” 

Fifi devoured the rat within a minute, and looking up at Ellie for a moment, dived back under the dresser and emerged minutes later, another freshly killed rat in her jaws. She clambered over to Ellie before dropping the rat at her knees and looking up at her expectantly. 

“Oh, I, uh. Wow.” Ellie stammered down at the dragon. She gingerly lifted the rat by the tail and, not willing to eat it as is, transfigured it into an apple. Fifi cocked her head to the side curiously as Ellie took a bite, but didn’t seem offended by the change in meal. Her opal eyes stayed transfixed on Ellie until only the core remained. 

“Thanks for that,” 

Finally, they set off down the staircase of the girls dormitory and crept up that of the boys. Ellie padded quietly down a short hallway until she reached the 7th year boys dorm and softly pushed the door open. There weren’t all that many Gryffindor boys in their year, so the room was rather spacious. Charlie was sprawled out on his four poster, one leg dangling off the edge of the bed. His mouth was wide open mid snore and his flaming red hair was sticking up in all directions. Ellie smiled down at him warmly before sharply tapping on his forehead with her finger. 

“Fuck off” Charlie groaned, attempting to roll over out of her reach “it’s Saturday, and the suns not even awake yet.” 

“It’s your turn with the baby,” Ellie countered. She sat down on the side of his bed and continued to aggravate him awake. “I have to shower and get working on my ancient runes project.” 

“The what?” Charlie mumbled, his eyes still forcefully shut but his brow furrowed. Ellie was now poking at each individual freckle on his forehead. 

“My ancient rune project?” Ellie asked, “I mean it’s nothing super interesting, it’s just-“ 

“No no I was more concerned about the word bab- AGH!” 

Charlie say upright so quickly the blankets fell off his bare chest, showing a cluster of curly red hair right between his nips. His eyes were looking past Ellie’s face at the glittering winged lizard perched upon her shoulder. 

“I thought I dreamed that up,” he mumbled, sticking out a hand to scratch the dragon’s chin affectionately. He ran a hand through his hair and rubbed his eyes awake more thoroughly. 

“You and me both,” Ellie said, “but anyway she’s fed and seems to be content so just watch her for a few hours, yeah?” 

“I’ll watch her all damn day!” Charlie said gleefully, now watching Fafnir clamber up his arm and sniff curiously at a stray lock of ginger hair. “You go work on your runes or whatever,” 

“You’re a god, Weasley.” Ellie said, getting up and leaning down to plant a kiss on the wee dragon’s forehead. “Be good for daddy while mummy’s gone.” 

With that, she turned and left the dorm, closing the door quietly behind her.


End file.
